Highland Park’s History Movie: Inspiring a creative response to our 150th anniversary
The Highland Park Historical Society, at the request of East on Central, will screen a film on Highland Park’s History followed by a presentation of Highland Parkers’ inspirational stories from the archives. This joint meeting will occur on Wednesday December 13th at 7 PM at the Highland Park Library.
East on Central wants this event to build interest and creative response to Highland Park’s 150th anniversary in 2019. A future publication of their journal will include stories and art related to hometowns, whether it is Highland Park or elsewhere. More information on this project as it progresses can be found at eastoncentral.org
Under the direction of JoBe Cerny, the Highland Park movie uses archival photographs to show the change in less than 80 years as Highland Park morphed from Native American trails to the telephone, electricity trains, automobiles, and opera at Ravinia Park. It was created with the financial support of YEA Highland Park and with the help of our community sponsors, the City of Highland Park, the Park District, the Library, School Districts 112 and 113, and the Cultural Arts Commission.
This original documentary traces the history of Highland Park from its geo-physical formation through its development as a railroad town and summer resort. As a planned community, the Highland Park Building Company hired a nationally renowned landscape firm to lay out the town. Architects at Cleveland and French were struck by the natural beauty of the forests, ravines, and lakeshore, prompting them to create a plan that would preserve these natural amenities. Over the years, Highland Park residents continue to appreciate and protect these amenities.
After the film, Archivist Nancy Webster will offer a presentation of Highland Parkers’ inspirational stories from the archives, including an eyewitness account of Sherman’s “March to the Sea” during the Civil War, another Highland Parker’s experience as an ambulance driver in World War I France, stories of citizens building a community, and the natural beauty that surrounds Highland Park.
The Highland Park history film will be at Highland Park Library Auditorium. For further information, please contact the Highland Park Historical Society: (847)432-7090 or archives@highlandparkhistory.org . Admission is free.